Alone
by NotYetLostFaith
Summary: "Time seemed to freeze, the traffic stilled, the breeze calmed, the night was silent. It was as if the entire universe was holding its breath, waiting, hoping for a miracle. Just like the man she'd left behind." Freefall Sequel. Slight over-lap with the end of Freefall, must read that first to understand. Dark, sad, may make you cry.


He watched the slow, small smile graced her lips before she tumbled through the darkness. Time seemed to freeze, the traffic stilled, the breeze calmed, the night was silent. It was as if the entire universe was holding its breath, waiting, hoping for a miracle. Just like the man she'd left behind. He refused, just as she had, to become the cliché. To run to the side and watch out of morbid curiosity her once vibrant, spectacular being become lifeless as she joined the concrete below. He shuddered, unable to hear the sickening thud; more feel it in his heart. He put his head in his hands as he slumped from kneeling to the floor. The tears that had been building since she had refused to answer her phone finally fell. His tired eyes streamed bitter, devastated tears as his distraught screams filled the air she had filled just moments before. He wept, silently, not for his loss, not even for hers, but for the very fact that the universe had lost one of its best inhabitants. He wept, because he'd never see her smile again. He wept, because she'd never mess up another idiom. He wept, because he'd never get to hold her again. He wept. And suddenly, the heavens joined him. The rain pelted the earth, lightening split the sky and the universe cried. His huge, heart-wrenching, sobs echoed around him. Almost without his knowledge, he rose to his feet and ran down the flights of stairs he had only ascended mere minutes before. He burst from the door way and paused, unable yet to face his partner. A young woman screamed, the first to see her and it spurred him into action. He ran to her side, ignoring the crimson puddle surrounding her, and laid beside her, curling into her side, whispering in her ear.

"It's okay now Baby. Everything's going to be okay now Angel. I love you, I've got you." He smiled softly through his tears as he gently teased a matted curl off her forehead. "I've got you, you're okay, you're safe, I've got you." He pressed a kiss to her cheek before sitting up and pulling her onto his lap, choosing not to pay attention to the limpness of her limbs. "See, I've got you Baby. It's all gonna be okay." He carefully held her close to his chest while pulling his phone from his jacket pocket. He would call Gibbs, tell him he'd found her, that he'd told her, that it had been too late. He'd heard the tears in his boss', they're father's voice and it had only worsened his own. He held her close, trying to keep her rapidly cooling body warm. His tears created a medley with her blood as he sat on the pavement, rocking, racked by sobs, holding his partner, his friend, his soul mate. "I get it Zi. I get it now Honey. I get it." People had started to gather, flies to a honey pot, vultures to a kill. They gasped, screamed, phoned the appropriate people, but none of this even entered his consciousness. His entire world, in that second, consisted of him and her, the modern day Romeo and Juliet, a love story for the ages. Surrounded by death right from the start. Authorities arrived, most knowing of the couple, they stayed back, confirmed that their family were on their way. They all knew if anyone was going to convince him to relinquish her, it would be them. He sobbed, wept, cried out into the night while two more vehicles joined the feeding frenzy. The silver haired father exited the first and stood stock still, taking in the sight before him. With only another moment of hesitation, he took quick steps and knelt before his agents, his son and daughter, and took their conjoined hands in both of his. A show of solidarity, familial support, more than to alert them of his presence. The three younger members of the team exited, followed by the medical examiner. The raven-haired young woman wept into her partners shoulder while the youngest member of the team laid a gentle comforting hand on her shoulder, both men putting a brave face on to support their colleagues, friends, siblings. For a moment, nothing moved. Almost as if some higher power decided the world needed a moment to remember its fallen friend. They all knew at some point, they would need to pass heaven's newest angel to her aged friend, to take her home, but in this moment, no one said a word, they all simply cried for the loss of someone, who despite her own protests, was a most wonderful human being.

It rained, everyday, from that night to this. The heavens cried with the man, stood at his daughter's grave. The silver in his hair shone in the bright full moon light. Thoughts of the young woman danced through his mind's eye. From her first appearance, to her crumpled, contorted body in the arms of the lover she never had. He laid a hand on the marble stone, reminding the world that she was once among them, and whispered gentle promises. He told her of the man currently laid in her bed, wrapped around her pillow, weeping. He told her of her sister, whose lab had been silent since that fateful night. He told her of her brothers, her Uncle, all of whom had never left her side, from the moment she was taken from Tony's arms, to the moment she had been laid to rest. He told her how much they would miss her, how much loosing her hurts, how he understood, how he loved her. He assured her that he would never blame her for taking another daughter from him. He assured her he would comfort her family, her team, how he would carry them through this.

"Goodnight my darling daughter, sweet dreams, I will always love you." He squeezed the stone one last time resting a single white rose against it before he left. This would be the first night she had been left alone since the night she had taken her final step. And tonight, for the first time in her tragically cut short life, she was truly, alone.


End file.
